The PBS NOVA Program: The Killer's Disease

Since Bacterial Meningitis is most severe, Sue was tested being the first patient with those symptoms. When the results came back, Sue showed positive for Bacterial Meningitis. Because of Sue’s results, the patients who came in contact with her were tested immediately. Jill, who rooms with Sue came up positive for Bacterial Meningitis. Anthony had no contact with Sue or Jill aside from covering one of their soccer games but is good friends with Maria who is always in Sue and Jill’s dorm. Maria came back positive, but thankfully Anthony was negative. Sue, Jill, Maria, and Marco were positive out of the nine for Bacterial Meningitis. From the ELISA tests we found that Sue had the highest concentration of the meningitis antigen. So we believe that the path of infection starts with her. Jill had the second highest,then Maria, then Marco. The second infection diagnosed was the Influenza B virus. Both Arnie and Anthony had the presence of the virus in their bloodstream. A third infection was found called, Mononucleosis. Wanda was diagnosed with mono due to her symptoms and a BLAST test on her blood. Alvin shares the same mononucleosis symptoms as well, but he refused to be tested. Only Maggie was diagnosed with Strep which was found in her blood using a

Bacterial meningitis is the swelling of the meninges. In the back of the brain, there are three protective membranes called the meninges (Mandal). During bacterial meningitis, bacteria invade the brain. This causes the immune system to enter and try to stop the disease (Mandal). In doing so, the meninges swell to stop the spread the virus, but this unfortunately causes damage to the brain and spinal area (Mandal). A person would get bacterial meningitis if their body was invaded by some of the germs that can cause it.

Meningococcal disease is a disease that can be found worldwide. Meningococcal disease refers to any disease or illness that is caused by the type of bacteria called Neisseria meningitides, also called meningococcus (Meningococcal disease, 2015). The first documented outbreak was over two hundred years ago in Geneva in 1805 which circulated rapidly and killed thirty three people. The first case ever recorded in America was in 1806 in Medford, Massachusetts (Fredericks, n.d.). A European physician, Professor A Weichselbaum, discovered the cause of the mysterious cerebro-spinal meningitis illness in 1887 and Penicillin was the first antibiotic used to fight the disease. In 1978 the first

| UNIT 4222- 264 THE PRINCIPLES OF INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL | | | |

Everytime sufferer Dylan Watkins looks at the stump of his left leg, he is reminded of the horrific toll of meningococcal disease.

Once within the body, naegleria fowleri attack the human nervous system and brain. This process is called ‘Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis’ and although such infections are rare, contraction almost always guarantees death. The case fatality rate is over 95%. Once the disease has been contracted, the subject will most likely be dead within five days. The longest running bout of this infection ever recorded was a mere twenty five days, with the shortest being sixteen hours.

disease and Alzheimer’s. Severe infection that has spread to the brain, epilepsy, stroke, and the late

Meningitis is a contagious infection of the cerebrospinal fluid and inflammation of the meninges, the nearby membrane that covers the spinal cord and brain. Both the meninges and cerebrospinal fluid serve as protectors

Of course there are always some very unlucky people, whose lives turn upside down because of their misfortune. Also this disease is very mysterious, since it cannot be studied in a lab like normal bacteria. This disease does not multiply as fast as a normal bacteria and it dies shortly after it is separated from its host, so it is almost impossible to study, which makes it harder to cure. It is also not a very pleasant disease since it causes you to have blisters all over your body and when the disease is cured it leaves you unable to feel pain, which is bad since pain prevents you from hurting yourself and when that is gone you no longer are able to protect your body as

Meningococcal Meningitis is the infection and inflammation of the meninges. Newborns and infants are at greatest risk for contracting bacterial meningitis with Neisseria meningitides being the typical pathogen in the majority of children age 2 months through 12 years (London, Ladewig, Ball, Bindler, & Cowen, 2011). There is a mortality rate of 10% for children who develop meningitis from this particular bacterium (Muller, 2013).

N. meningitidis and the diseases that it is responsible for are diagnosed by blood samples or a spinal tap to retrieve cerebrospinal fluid samples. Since the bacteria grows fastidious and is oxidase positive, it is preferred to grow it on a blood agar plate or a chocolate agar plate at temperatures ranging from 35-37 degrees Celsius. It can be identified using the Kovac’s oxidase test and if a positive result is found it should be followed with a carbohydrate utilization test. If this too shows N.meningitidis then a serological test should be performed to determine which strain is present. The strains of A, B, C, Y and W135 are the only known associated with humans and disease. Strain B is a weaker form and does not generate an adequate immune response therefore natural infection is capable of generating some immunity. It is also important in the lab testing of N. meningitidis to remember that the bacteria is capable of fermenting maltose in cultures which would set it apart from N. gonorrhoeae. It is imperative to utilize the Biosafety Level 2 to prevent contamination in lab workers. Most strains and diseases caused by N. meningitidis are treated with the administration of intravenous penicillin in a natural form. Ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin or rifampin as well as Chloramphenicol in children are used in treatment. It is also advised that anyone who may be exposed to the disease be treated with prophylactic treatment in order to prevent secondary infections. The treatment

disease is an illness that has been going around the nation throughout the previous ten years, yet has of late been found in Western Washington. This disease is an airborne infection that is very contagious and particularly dangerous to those individuals that are between the ages of 12 – 22. Some ways you could be infected are: going through ventilation frameworks (in structures, restaurants, and houses), through physical contact, bodily fluids. A unique aspect of this disease is that you could be infected, yet you may not demonstrate any symptoms of the disease since you are immune but rather are still a carrier of this infection. The S.H.A.N.E.A.N.E.A infection attacks the nervous system since it's searching for particular mind cells. For instance, if you only eat fast food for dinner every night, then you’re more likely to be infected. Unlike other people who eat vegetables and natural product. Some other causes are not reading in the previous six months, haven’t seen a Netflix television show in the previous six months or have not done their

Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, membranes that surround the brain. This can extend as far as infecting the cerebral spinal fluid on top of causing the tissue to swell. Meningitis comes in two major forms; bacterially and virally. However, having bacterial meningitis is much more severe than viral meningitis. There is a lot more danger in having a bacterial infection within the brain than a viral infection within the brain. What makes bacterial meningitis so lethal is that “even when the disease is diagnosed early and adequate treatment is started, 5% to 10% of patients die, typically within 24 to 48 hours after the onset of symptoms. Left untreated, up to 50% of cases may die, (6) or there

Since its first reported case in the early 19th century, the Meningococcal infection, which formulates as a result of the bacterium Neisseria Meningitidis, has remained a potentially life-threatening disease that continues to be fatal throughout the world today. Like all diseases, Meningococcal has the propensity to inflict damage by impairing the “normal state” of an organism, interrupting its ability to function in any shape or form, and thereby inhibiting its ability to survive (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015). Little unlike other virulent bacterial microorganisms of its class, Neisseria Meningitidis produces at an exceedingly fast rate and aims to infiltrate its target’s cell walls to thrive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Meningococcal disease is a large concern in the medical field because it is unbiased towards the patients it infects. There has been limited success in trying to eliminate this disease. Antibiotics play a role in helping to treat patients with bacterial meningitis, and steroids have been tested to help reduce risk factors. Prevention has also become a key issue because meningitis can only be spread through direct contact with infected body fluid. The best prevention is to maintain clean hygiene. Vaccines are another way of preventing disease. However, there are multiple serogroups of meningitis that makes creating a universal vaccine extremely difficult. So far, there have only been two